Thursday, September 22, 2011

Easy Letter Reversal Solution

Learning lowercase letters can be really confusing for many children, especially the letters b, d, p, and g.  When you think about it, it's not surprising that kids often mix them up.  After all, most objects don't change what they are just because you flip them around or turn them upside down!   

Several years ago when I went to a workshop while teaching, I learned about an awesome tip that really helps with letter reversals.  The best part?  Your child won't need anything fancier than their own two hands (and a little bit of imagination).


Check it out . . .(thanks to the awesome hand modeling of my 6-year old!)


Isn't that cool?  The shape of your hands resembles the lower-case b and d!  Teach your child this little visual trick, then remind them to "Make their bed" whenever they have to read or spell a word with the letters b and d.  By thinking about the letters and sounds in the word bed, then looking at their fisted hands with their thumbs extended, it's much easier to know the correct letter formation and the correct letter sound!

The coolness continues...

It's the same concept, but now, just think about the word pig for help remembering the letters p and g.



There you have it!  A super simple trick that has helped many of my students over the years and is helping my own children now. 


Sharing our pigs and beds solution at:


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32 comments:

Esther said...

That's ingenious! My 4 yr old daughter has the problem of mixing up b and d. I just love this idea.

Thanks a lot for sharing!

Denise said...

I am going to show this to my 2 first graders (twin boys) tomorrow!! This is awesome.

Jesslyn said...

thanks for sharing.

can i share this link with my friends?

Laura said...

Jesslyn said...

thanks for sharing.

can i share this link with my friends?


Absolutely! I'd be flattered

Mandi said...

This is wonderful! My son still has issues with b, d, and p. He's in second grade and very smart, but he still brings home papers that say "Monbay" occasionally. I love this, and will be sharing this with him! :)

KJ@letsgoflyakite said...

My husband is dyslexic, so I get anxious about this issue. My daughter's writing of letters and numbers often looks like a reverse reflection. I find this post fascinating and helpful. Thank you.

Amanda said...

This came at just the right time. I came from Sun Scholars and if you look at my link up right below yours (#12) you will see my daughter has started reversing since she started kindergarten. She writes I am deer (with a b) She never has before. I am going to show her this "trick" this weekend and am hoping it will help =) Thanks for sharing!

Rachel at Sun Scholars said...

Oh, I am SOOO using this in my class. Thanks so much Laura!!! And thanks for sharing at For the Kids Friday!!

MelOTR said...

Thanks for sharing!

Colleen said...

THANK you! My poor first grader always struggles w this....awesome!

Heidi said...

I just stumbled upon your blog and love it!! what amazing ideas thank you thank you .... added you to my following list!:)

Lorie said...

This is AWESOME! I wish I'd known about this sooner! I'm pinning it! Lorie @ http://readingconfetti.blogspot.com

Lindsey said...

I homeschool my children and my second grader still uses this trick from time to time. Those b's and d's give him fits.

Jenni R. said...

Wonderful!!! I called my daughter in right away to see. Thanks so much!

Secret Mom Thoughts said...

Great tip. I will definitely use it with my daughter.

Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas said...

we have the B and d dilemma! Sharing this with my 5yr old tomorrow!!!

Thanks for linking to Sunday Showcase - I shared this on Facebook!

Bern

*Christina* said...

Love this! My Kindergarten teacher taught us to do the bed one and it made things so much easier. :)

The pig one is new though. So cute. I'll have to try that when my girls start school.

Kat @ KaydeeBunz said...

Thank you so much!! My daughter gets these mixed up so I love that you have pictures and an explanation so I can show and explain it to her!! This is awesome, you rock!:)

Anonymous said...

Woo Hoo!!!! THANK YOU!!!! My 1st grade daughter always, always, always makes her p's backward. I have searched and searched for something for her to help her remember and could only find stuff for b and d. I have even been racking my brain trying to come up with something. This is perfect!!! Thanks again!!

3XMom said...

This works for adults too! When you are at a function - your Bread is on the left, and your Drink is on the right. B and D! Love it!

Carmen said...

WOW! Thanks for this...my daughter is still mixing up her B's and D's...and she's in 3rd grade. Gonna show her this when she gets home today. You wouldn't have something for time tables would you :)

Would love it if you would link this up to our Rockin' link party going on now at RoCa and Company. Here is the link: http://rocaandcompany.blogspot.com/2011/09/welcome-fall-and-you-rock-2.html Come and show off what you got. Hope to see you there...

Remember...YOU ROCK!!

Carmen @
RoCa and Company
www.rocaandcompany.blogspot.com

Bubbles said...

My 6 year old daughter struggles with her 'd' and 'b's. Her teacher did show us a bed example but as a picture, your way with the hands is just wonderful!! thanks for sharing, I will explain your way to her next time we do writing!
Joanne x

Brian said...

I had heard about b and d and seen the picture with the bed, but never thought of it with the fingers nor did I know anything about how to help with p and q. You are awesome for coming up with that, thanks for sharing!

Aimee from Classified: Mom said...

I have never seen that before! I LOVE IT!!! Thank you for sharing this on The Sunday Showcase.

Jennifer said...

I hope you don't mind... I posted this along with a free printable I have on at www.classroomfreebies.com.

Let me know and I can pull it down. (I gave you full credit! =) Email me... jenp761@gmail.com if you want me to pull it down. =) No worries. I just loved it and thought it would match great with my printable. =)

Thanks for the great idea and visual! Jennifer

Empowering Little Learners!

Shelby from anewbohemia.com said...

My daughter is in the second grade and we were just having this discussion about how hard it was sometimes to remember g and d... my daughter said, "isn't it confusing!" I can't wait to show her this trick!

Charisa said...

This has helped my son so much! Thanks!

raising4princesses said...

this is so wonderful. I use the b/d method with my girls but I've never heard of the p/g one! That is awesome. Thanks so much! I do a link party on my blog every Tuesday and I'd love you to stop by if you have the chance! Love, Maria
http://caribbeanmissionarywife.blogspot.com/

Marisa Hopkins said...

This is so fantastic!! My 6 year old just had her first b/d spelling test and it was impossible for her until I had her write 'bed' next to her name before the test - she ended up doing awesome, but I know she'll LOVE seeing it made out of her hands :) And I'm sure the p/g will come in handy. Thanks for sharing!

Jennifer said...

LOL, that's so funny because that's exactly how I taught my kids the difference years ago!

KiddyCharts said...

Utterly brilliant! Will definitely be using this with my two. DD is in yr 1 and still struggles with this. Think the visual clues will make a massive difference. Thanks again.

TuTu's Bliss said...

Thank you for this wonderful idea! I was shocked at how few on-line resources there are to help with letter reversal. Thank you for being one of the few good ones!

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